Tiger's Crane
by Red Kat
Summary: Misagawa Momo is the new Mew. She is 15 and lives alone raising her little brother, Jin. Now that Momo's a Mew, she's got a lot of problems: Kishu won't leave her alone, she has a creepy stalker, and her secret is about to be exposed! Sorry,bad summary.
1. Merged

**Tokyo Mew Mew: Ch. 1 Merged**

I do not own any of the TMM stories.

And so you know,my fanfic is based off the manga. What I don't know, I've had to make up.

_Riiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnggggggggg!!!!_

The doors to the local high school in Tokyo burst open. Kids from 7th grade and up poured out of the doors. The students split in all directions; some to after-school activities, others to waiting cars, and still more walked down the street in groups.

A short while later, the school doors came open again. This time a solitary figure raced out. It was a petite, rather short fifteen year-old. She had bright orange hair and turquoise-green eyes that sparkled with curiosity and annoyance.

"Momo! Over here!" called Sayuri, who had obsidian colored hair and chocolaty-brown eyes. Fuji Sayuri was Momo' s best friend and a rich kid. She used to get picked up in a limo, but she had wanted to walk with Momo. Her house wasn't that far away from the school, so her parents agreed.

Momo hurried over to Sayuri, who was standing by the street.

"What took you so long?" asked Sayuri, mock annoyance showing on her pretty face.

"Yamamoto-sensei made me stay five minutes after class," Momo said, clearly annoyed.

"Why? You don't talk in class…much."

"Because I didn't get my homework done," Momo said glumly. "I was looking around for an after-school job," she said in answer to Sayuri' s questioning look.

"Oh."

Sayuri knew Momo had a rough time. She was living on her own with her younger brother, Jin, who was thirteen. Their aunt and uncle sent them money, but it wasn't nearly enough. She also knew that Momo wouldn't take any help from _her_.

"It didn't go so well," Momo said, glumly. "No one would hire me, they thought I was pretending to be fifteen." Momo was often mistaken for either a 14 or a 13 year old.

"That's not fair," Sayuri said sympathetically. "Hey! I have an idea! Let's go to that new café down town. I've heard the pastries are to die for!"

"Great idea!" Momo said, perking up. "Oh…I don't have any money, though," she said, her face falling.

"That's okay! That's why I'm rich!" Sayuri said, striking a heroic pose. Or, it was until she lost her balance and fell.

Momo laughed as Sayuri sat up and pulled a leaf out of her hair, Sayuri also laughing. Momo pulled Sayuri up and they started walking down the street to the Mew Mew Café. They rounded a corner and suddenly, the café was in view. It was huge and pink…Very, very pink.

"Wow…" stated Momo with wide eyes. "A woman must own this. No man could stand being in there for more than three seconds and no way could a guy make something this cute."

"Momo," said Sayuri with a groan, "Not all guys are super masculine…..but I see your point," she added.

With that, they walked into the café.

"W-Welcome to Café Mew Mew," stuttered a girl with glasses and green hair shyly. "I'll show you to your table," the girl said, gaining confidence as she noticed that Momo and Sayuri weren't going to snap at her.

"Thank you," said Sayuri politely. Momo gave the shy 13 year old a grin. She got a wavery one in return. Momo and Sayuri were shown to a little table with heart shaped wire chairs [pink again]. After they were seated, the shy girl said over the sound of shattering plates, "Someone will be with you in second to take your order." She gave a small wave and headed back to her station. Stepping over bits of glass, she stepped in a puddle of water and, slipping, sat down hard. Sayuri covered a grin, while Momo tried to stifle her giggling.

"Hi, I'm Ichigo! What would you like?" said a girl with reddish hair. Their attention brought back to their table, Sayuri replied,"How about strawberry shortcake? What do you think, Momo?"

"Sounds good to me," said Momo cheerfuly. "You know me, I'll eat anything sweet," she said with a grin.

"All right. Two strawberry shortcakes, please." Sayuri licked her lips.

Three loud crashes later, their order arrived. Biting into their treat, they voiced their appreciation with loud moans of pleasure. [Do not think that, people. Get your minds outta the gutter.]

Another fifteen minutes passed and Momo had been looking at the people in the Cafe.

"A lot of these girls are in our school," commented Momo.

"You're right," Sayuri said, looking around. "Must be a popular hang-out for the girls."

Momo suddenly ssaw a blond haired guy hading for the back of the Cafe.

"Sayuri, does that blond guy look familiar? The one who's headed for the 'Employees Only' door?"

"Sure. He's another rich kid who lives around here. He would've gone to our school, but he's a serious genius. He hasn't had to go to school since he was like, ten," she said. "That's Shirogane Ryou."

"Wow...Wait, why do you know so much about him?" asked Momo. Sayuri blushed and looked away. "You like him!" Momo suddenly exclaimed.

"Shush!!!" hissed Sayuri, blushing even redder. Momo started laughing.

When Momo finally stopped, she saw that Ryou had disappeared through the door. "I dare you to follow him," said Momo with an evil grin. Sayuri looked horrified.

"No way! No way in hell would I put myself through that!"

"Scaredy-cat!" taunted Momo.

"If you're so brave you do it!" said Sayuri.

"I don't like him though. I wonder what is he doing here, though..." she pondered.

"Hey, you're not actually gonna do it...are you?" she asked worriedly.

"Why not?" Momo said recklessly. "Distract the black haired guy for me, will you?" Momo said as she headed for the door.

"Momo!" Sayuri called. When no response was given, she sighed and hurried to distract the handsome black haired guy at the register.

Momo slipped through the door and found herself in a long, carpeted hallway. There were stairs at the other end and doors all along the hallway. Starting with the doors on her left, she began opening the doors. Most were either empty rooms, closets, or bedrooms. At the last door, she found more stairs. However, these stairs were long and they disappeared into the darkness as they went down. Momo's curiosity piqued, she took a last look back(looking for observers), and headed down the stairs.

Momo almost tripped several time, but luckily, she has good balance and fast reaction time. She finally reached the bottom. What greeted her was not at all what she'd expected. It was a lab. A very high tech, clean lab. And in the center of the lab was a beautiful orange light. Momo was instantly drawn to it. Right as she was about to step into the light, her common sense came rushing back.

_Holy crap Momo!! _she berated herself, _How stupid are you? You don't just waltz into a strange lab and mess around with whatever the hell kind of equipment this is. For all I know, it could turn me into an alien. Not that I believe in aliens, but still. It could do something horrible to me! _

After Momo berated herself some more, she decided to only stick a finger into the light. After all, she wasn't stupid.

Momo approached the light cautiously. When she was a foot or so away, she extended her as her finger almost touched the light, a voice said,

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Momo yelped and spun around, trying desperately not to lose her balance. She failed.

Momo fell backwards straight into the light. Instead of hitting the floor, as people normally do when they fall, she floated. Her feet started out on the floor,but she was gradually pulled into the air. Momo's eyes widened as she looked down,seeing her body in air. Suddenly, she became aware of a presence. She looked up again and found herself staring into the face of the most beautiful tiger she'd ever seen. It had an aura around it and was beautifully luminescent. As Momo stared at it, it came closer and closer until it was suddenly inside her, molding itself to her insides. When it was in, her body was flooded with the calmest, most wonderful feeling. She felt safe, as one does when embraced by a loving parent. It was a feeling she hadn't had since she was nine.

Just as suddenly, it left her. Momo wasn't sad though, she knew it was still there, waiting to be needed. Momo floated gently to the floor. She blinked and the beautiful light was gone.

"Well, that was interesting," stated a voice. The _exact_ same voice that had made her fall into the light. Momo looked into the darkness, which suddenly didn't seem so dark any more.

There standing a little distance away from her was Shirogane Ryou.

A/N- Sorry this chapter's a bit short and probably boring, but I needed to get certain things established. Plz,plz rate and review so I know if it's good, bad, or needs something! Constructive criticism would be nice.

^_^


	2. Mew Momo

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the TMM series.

"You!" yelled Momo in surprise. Her voice sounded abnormally loud to her ears. Momo gave an involuntary wince.

"Interesting," said Ryou thoughtfully, "similar to Ichigo, but different." He ignored her question.

"Ichigo? You mean that waitress upstairs? Uh, you must be blind. I don't look like her at all," said Momo, incredulous. "Not to mention I'm two years older." _Not that I'm much taller _she added silently.

Ryou suddenly gave a smug smile. Momo didn't like that look on his face at all. She looked at him, confused.

_Wait a second, Mew Mew Café, Tokyo Mew Mew…The familiar waitresses, the names..._

Suddenly, everything clicked.

"This café is the headquarters for Tokyo Mew Mew!" exclaimed Momo. "And those 'waitresses' are the Mews."

"Well, this is a surprise, we actually got a smart Mew," said Ryou.

"Huh? I'm not a Mew," said Momo. Momo suddenly realized her arms were cold. _Where's my jacket? I don't think I took it off…_

"Look to your left," said Ryou. Momo gave him a weird look, but did what he asked.

She let out a yelp of surprise [Her reflection was shown in a big glass tank]. She was in an light orange dress similar to Mew Ichigo's, except that the pointed pieces were black and had bells on the ends. The dress was highlighted with more thin pieces of black ribbon that crossed the front of the dress and tied into a big black bow on the back. And last but not least, there was a pair of tiger ears and a tiger's tail. _Holy crap. Could this _be _any more skimpy? It is kinda cute though....but I _hate _dresses!!! _thoughtMomo_, _dismayed_._

Momo blinked a few times and realised that the dark room wasn't dark at all now. Further more, she was getting distracted by the movement of her dress. She spun aorund and listened to the bells and watched the movement of the dress. Suddenly, she felt really angry.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" yelled Momo angrily. Her tail was twitching like crazy and her tiger ears had flattened ever so slightly.

Now normally, Momo didn't get mad. However, something about the fact that he was talking to her like she was _his _creation, was really bugging her. And the fact that he was acting like an arrogant jerk didn't help either. The tiger genes were probably a factor, too.

"Good thing you were compatible or that would have ended badly for you," said Ryou. "And it wasn't my fault, by the way, you fell."

"You made me fall! You startled me." Even Momo thought that argument sounded feeble. Ryou laughed.

Momo suddenly heard footsteps on the stairs. Momo spun around, stumbling into Ryou. She quickly righted herself.

A voice suddenly said, "Hey, Ryou! What's all the noise?" It was the black-haired guy from the register. "You found the new Mew? Great!"

"More like she found us," Ryou said with a smirk. "Oh, by the way, what's your name?" he said, turning to Momo.

She blinked. "Misagawa Momo."

"Misagawa Momo, this is Akasaka Keiichiro, my assistant," said Ryou.

"Pleasure to meet you," said Keiichiro with a slight bow. He had a very genteel voice. "So you're infused with the Siberian Tiger genes, right?"

"I...guess so," she said. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Oh, crap! I gotta go!" Momo ran for the stairs, but Ryou got there first.

"You gonna leave looking like that? And we need to explain everything to you so you don't get yourself killed," said Ryou.

"Explain it to me later. I really have to go!" she said trying to get around him.

"Hold still for a second, will you?" he said. He shut the door quickly and turned to her again. He held out a wierd pendant/locket thing that had an engraved heart pattern on it.

"Take it," he said. "It'll allow you to change into a Mew at will. If the aliens attack you and you don't have it, you are in deep trouble."

"Why would I be attacked?" Momo said, stalling.

"Because you became a Mew. They'll want to find out how strong you are," he explained, with aggravating patience. Ryou suddenly leaned forward and clipped it around her neck. Momo reached up and touched the pendant gingerly.

"Are you done?" Momo asked impatiently, trying to figure out why she didn't want the pendant.

"No. You need to come back here after school so I can finish. That way you know everything and won't get yourself killed," said Ryou.

"All right, but how do I change back?" asked Momo.

"All you have to do is think about changing back," explained Keiichiro. No sooner than the words were out of his mouth than Momo was back to normal. She shoved past Ryou and ran up the stairs, having no intention of coming back.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"There you are!" exclaimed Sayuri thankfully when Momo got back upstairs. "I thought you'd been caught."

"Uh, nope," said Momo, with an anime sweatdrop. _First lie to Sayuri...._ Momo thought sadly. _I don't like lying to her, but how can I explain becoming a Mew? _Momo's face had become increasingly glum as she walked with Sayuri out of the cafe.

"Momo? What's wrong?" asked Sayuri, concern showing on her face.

"Oh! Nothing!" said Momo hurriedly and quickly started changing the subject.

_She's lying, _thought Sayuri. _But I don't know why. Other than she started acting funny after we left the cafe. Oh well, she'll tell me later. _

Momo and Sayuri talked about friendly nothings all the way to Sayuri's mansion. After waving goodbye to Sayuri, Momo continued home.

Momo was allmost to the apartmnt she shared with her brother when she realised that she had to get groceries. Momo gave a loud groan and cursing Ryou, headed for the nearest store.

Leaving the store with grocery bags in hand, Momo headed back down the street. It was about an hour before midnight no one was out on the street, they were all probably at home, watching TV , doing homework, etc.

Momo suddenly became aware that she was being watched, but she couldn't tell from where. Three bodies suddenly appeared a few yards ahead of her.

"Found her," said one of them in a slightly cold, mechanical voice.

"She's cute, too," added another one.

The voices owner stepped forward into the light of a near by lamp post. Momo came to the startling conclusion that the guy was floating....and she hated to admit it, but he looked like an alien. He had black hair with little pieces of hair tied in the front, dangling by his face.

"I'm Kishu, the alien that's gonna reclaim Earth."

AN: ooooooo, a cliffhanger. Sorry it took me so long ppl, I had gotten sick and was busy earning money, lol. This probably isn't one of the best chapters but I _promise_ it'll be more exciting next time.


	3. A Not Quite Up To Chance Encounter

**Chapter Three**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew_

"What?" said Momo. "Reclaim Earth? It wasn't even yours to begin with," she continued. _Who is- waitwaitwait! Ryou said that the aliens would try to corner me. This is probably what he meant _she thought. _Just my luck, I didn't even believe in them until almost two hours ago _Momo thought wryly.

While Momo had been thinking, distracted, her hands had found their way to the power pendant Ryou had given her. Kishu had been getting subtly closer.

"Are you sure she's the Mew, Pai? I mean she's cute and all, but she's just standing there," Kishu called back to the other alien.

_Ohhhh, so his name's Pai. Huh, a quiche and a pie, wuddaya know _thought Momo. Momo began sizing them up out of long habit, just like she would for a fight.

Suddenly, Kishu disappeared.

_Not good! _thought Momo. A pair of strong arms suddenly encircled her waist. Letting out a gasp of surprise, Momo quickly dug her nails into the web between his thumb and forefinger.

"Ouch!!! You've got sharp nails! If I hadn't already named Ichigo 'Kitty' I'd give you the name," said Kishu, shaking out his hand. "Never fear, though, I'll give you a name," he said with a grin.

"Thank you, but I'd prefer to keep my own name," Momo replied evenly from where she'd leapt away from Kishu.

"Awww, don't be like that, sweetie," he said, giving her a wounded expression. Momo glared at him.

"Enough playing around Kish. Kill her or fight her," Pai said.

"Okay! Let's see what you're made of honey," Kish said, rushing at Momo.

Momo quickly jumped back, landing on her back. Gasping, she jumped up and ran. _I can't beat them like this _thought Momo. _I need to transform, but how?! I don't remember what Ryou said! It had something to do with the pendant…_

While Momo had been running and thinking, Kish had been catching up. Something exploded right at Momo' s heals. Suddenly, she felt a burst of heat and then she was flying.

Momo slammed into the ground, breath escaping from her lungs. Kish walked towards her, coming to a stop in front of Momo, who was still desperately trying to get her breath back. He crouched down and put a finger under her chin, lifting her face up.

"How disappointing. You're not a Mew," he said regretfully. "Hmmmmm. Maybe Pai would let me keep you for a pet," he said thoughtfully.

Finally getting her breath back, Momo shoved herself away, rolling backwards out of Kish's hold. Slowly backing up, Momo fingered the pendant, desperately trying to remember what Ryou had said. Suddenly, it came rushing back. Momo quickly put the pendant to her lips and kissed it.

Once again, that wonderful feeling came rushing back. And, like before, Momo found herself in costume. Internally, Momo heaved a sigh of relief. Outwardly, she cocked her hip to the side, leaned forward and put a hand on her thigh, and with her free hand flashed a peace sign.

"Mew Star at your service! Prepare to get blasted!" Momo said cockily. _I feel like such a dork _thought Momo, cynically. More words suddenly launched out of Momo' s mouth.

"Star Wand!" Momo cried. A beautiful baton dropped into her upraised hand. The baton had a ring on top with a crystal star in its center. The bottom had a smaller diamond-shaped crystal.

"Ribbon Star Dust!!" Momo yelled. The top three points of the star glowed and then a blinding beam of "starlight" shot out and hit Kish square in the chest. He flew back and smashed through a tree before he stopped. Seeing this, Momo felt almost giddy with power, and a little bit frightened of the power she now had.

Kish slowly got up, wincing as he did. The two aliens, Pai and Taruto, appeared next to Kish. Pai slung Kishu's arm around his shoulder and said, "We'll be back to finish this later." His eyes seemed to bore into Momo, frightening her a little. "This should keep you busy," he said as his hand flicked out, throwing something at a nearby rat. Then, Pai, Kishu, and Taruto bwinked out, leaving Momo to deal with a huge rat turned chimera anima.

"Augh! Why'd it have to be a _rat_?!!" yelled Momo, as she dodged a swipe of the rat's claw, "I _hate _rats!!" Aiming her baton at the rat, she quickly blasted it. The rat returned to normal with a loud squeak of pain.

Momo slumped against a nearby tree, tired from the day's experiences. Also, she felt exhausted; she'd never had that strength before. Suddenly, Momo's cat senses started tingling; she was being watched. The rat Momo had saved scurried in front of her. With an audible yelp, Momo leapt onto the nearest tree branch.

"Never thought I'd see a cat scared of a rat," a voice drawled.

_Judging by the timber and depth of the voice, _thought Momo, _it's a boy about my age. Who is he?_

Echoing her own thoughts, Momo asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Kakei, sarcasm extraordinaire" said the voice. Momo knew exactly where he was. She dropped out of the tree right in front of him. He didn't even flinch, not at her cat ears or the fact that she dropped out of nowhere. The mysterious boy had black hair that looked almost blue in the night. He had pale skin and grey eyes, very good-looking indeed.

"Who are you?" he asked back.

"Mew Mo- Mew Star," she said, at the last minute remembering it wouldn't be smart to give out her real name. Jin was too smart not to end up suspicious as to who the 'new mew' was (the news coverage would make sure of that). Having the name "Momo" pop up as the new mew's name would just make him know for certain.

"Umm, not that this hasn't been interesting, but I've gotta go," said Momo. Abruptly, she jumped up onto the brick wall, then to a lamp post, and from there to a telephone wire. She ran along it, disappearing into the night.

The boy watched her go, with a knowing smirk on his face, his now silver eyes glinting. He slowly floated into the air with his indigo hair floating around his face and teleported to the aliens ship.

"This should be far enough," Momo whispered. "Aww, crap! I don't remember how to change back!!"

Muttering to herself, Momo found that she was in front of the café. Seeing it was closed, she leapt onto the roof and slid through the heart-shaped window. Her cat eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom. It was a bedroom. Coming closer to the bed, she saw it was empty.

"Odd," she whispered. "It's pretty late, why isn't this person in bed?" she asked herself.

"Why aren't _you_ in bed?" said a voice from the shadows.

Momo jumped, hitting her head on the ceiling. Momo dropped onto her knees on the floor, her tiger ears flattened. "Owwwwww," moaned Momo, clutching her now throbbing head.

"Not used to it yet are you?" questioned the voice. "You'd better hurry up and get used to it, otherwise you're screwed when you fight," said the voice Momo now recognized as belonging to Ryou.

Momo stood up and marched over to him. "I just did fight you, dumbass! And I'm still alive and kicking!" She demonstrated this by kicking him on the shin. He winced, but said nothing. "You startled me is all, jerk," she muttered.

"Shouldn't you have heard me coming?"

"You just have to have the last word, don't you?" retorted Momo angrily. She raised a hand as if to slap him, but saw a weird bruise on his face. Instead, at the last second, Momo grabbed his face and yanked it down to her level. Using her cat eyes again, she saw that he had a black eye and a split lip. He jerked his face from her hands and stepped back.

"Hmmm. Who hit you?" asked Momo.

"No one," Ryou muttered.

"Yeah right," snorted Momo. She grabbed his arm and tugged him downstairs to the bathroom. Momo dragged him in and told him to sit down. He sat. Momo didn't waste time wondering why he obeyed her. She reached into the cupboard and pulled out antiseptic cream and grabbed a wet towel. Momo stood in front of him and cleaned up his face.

"You're going to have a nice sunrise on your face tomorrow," she said, pointing to Ryou's blackened eye.

"How many times have you cleaned someone up after a fight?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, wincing as he did.

"My younger brother is a lot like you. He's a genius, good looking, and girls love him. However, his mouth and the way he acts make him quite a few enemies. He finally learned how to control his mouth after his arm was broken," she said, now cleaning up the bathroom.

"Why did you have to take care him? What about your parents?" he asked, even though he had an idea. He wanted to see if she'd tell him.

"They...travel a lot," she said vaguely. Quickly changing the subject, she said, "So what did you say? Wait, let me guess: A girl likes you, but her brother doesn't want that. So instead of talking to his sister, he came to you and mouthed off. You mouthed back and that was when he hit you," she guessed.

"Basically, yes." Ryou and Momo were back in Ryou's room.

"Do you like the girl?" asked Momo, curiously.

"No, she's too young," he said.

"Whereas Ichigo isn't?" asked Momo shrewdly.

"How'd you-?" Ryou finally reacted, also giving himself away.

"Ha! I knew it!! The way you kept mentioning her was a dead give away! I win!" Momo said triumphantly. Ryou reached out and caught Momo by the ear.

"Ouch!" yelped Momo.

"Tell anyone and you're working here for no pay," he threatened.

"OW! Okay, let go of my ear!!"

Ryou let go with a laugh. "So. Why did you sneak in here anyways?" he asked.

Momo looked embarrassed. "Uhh, I kind sorta forgot how to change back," she said, rubbing the back of her head.

Ryou burst out laughing. "How could you forget something so simple?!" he asked, giving her a 'you're so stupid look'.

"Don't give me that look! You made me so mad that I wasn't listening!" she said, pouting. Her tail was thrashing, annoyed.

"All you have to do is picture yourself back to normal," he said, still chuckling slightly.

Sheepishly, Momo easily turned back to normal. Ryou let Momo out the side door. As she turned to leave, he said, "Thanks."

"No problem," she said with a grin.

Ryou watched as the new Mew walked away trough the night.

T_he next day...._

Momo gave a huge yawn, leaning back in her desk chair. _Why did sensei have to change our seating? The sun from this window is making me sooooooo sleepy _thought Momo.

"Pssst! Momo!" hissed someone from behind her. Momo jumped. Hastily, Momo clutched her head, hiding the ears that had suddenly popped out.

"What Haruko?" Momo whispered back. Haruko sat directly behind Momo, and so could easily whisper in Momo's ear.

Instead of answering, Haruko pressed a note into her hand. "Who's it from?" Momo asked when she saw that it didn't have Haruko' s handwriting on it.

"I don't know. I found it in my pocket just now. Maybe it says inside?" suggested Haruko. Haruko had leaned too far forward and hit her head on Momo's. Both of them yelped. They both quickly fell silent when the sensei looked back at them. Each tried to act like they were innocent, but only succeeded in looking guilty. The class was desperately trying to not laugh at the antics of the two and give them away, but they only made the sensei more suspicious.

"Momo, Haruko," said Sensei warningly. The class couldn't contain it: they burst into laughter when Momo jumped again, which was hastily, and not all successfully, stifled. Haruko was blushing prettily, and Momo was grinning and trying to sink down in her seat.

I guess I'll have to wait until later to read it thought Momo. For the rest of the day, Momo could feel the note burning a hole in her pocket.

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Momo was heading to the cafe once again. She stopped, not caring if she would be late for work. The note, by now, was crumpled and in some places torn, but it was still legible. It read:

You are a bit tougher to track down than I thought, Mew Star. Meet me in the park at 8 unless you want me to tell everyone who you are.

"Aw, crap," muttered Momo.

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A/N: Oooooooooo, a cliffhanger again. Wow do I suck at cliffhangers. Oh well, you people will just have to deal, lol.

AN- I read through my chapters and realized they sucked, so I redid them, lol. Enjoy!


	4. A Chapter Whatever

CHAPTER WHATEVER

'There is no WAY that I will wear that!" was the first thing out of Momo's mouth when she saw the waitress uniform. "Absolutely NO way," she reiterated.

.

.

Five minutes later, Momo found herself in the soft orange waitress uniform. The apron was white, but the accenting bows and ribbons were hot pink.

"Waaaah! I _hate _dresses!!!" wailed Momo as she surveyed herself in the mirror. "I refuse to go out there!" she said stubbornly. "I put the dress on, so I still get payed. Therefore, I don't have to show myself."

"Why? You look so cute!" exclaimed Ichigo Momomiya, also known as Mew Ichigo. The new Mew's logic confused Ichigo.

"I don't care," Momo said stubbornly. "Ryou could at least have let me wear the men's uniform instead."

"Momo! If you don't come out here and start work right now, I will drag you out and make you work for _no _pay," threatened Ryou in his most deadpan voice.

"Ugh," groaned Momo, her tiger fangs showing. Momo stormed out of the cafe's locker room.

"Fine. Happy?" Momo hissed.

"Infinitely," he replied. "I don't get the big deal, you look better than Ichigo," stabbed Ryou, glancing at Ichigo.

Ichigo shook her fist at Ryou. "You' re so beyond rude and mean!" exclaimed Ichigo, her face flushed slightly in anger.

Ignoring the two's squabbling, Keiichiro handed Momo a pad and pencil. "Do you know how to be waitress?" he asked kindly.

"Yup!" grinned Momo.

So with that, Momo started her first day of work. It soon became routine, stepping over dishes broken by Lettuce and Pudding, watching Mint drink tea, comforting Zakuro's customers, and ignoring Ichigo's mood swings and squabbles with Ryou. And luckily for Momo, she enjoyed it.

---------------------------------

Momo's shift ended at 7:30 pm. She quickly changed back into her school uniform and headed out, saying goodbye to her new friends. It would take her about thirty minutes to reach the park where the meeting was to take place. Momo had decided to not tell the others, she didn't want them to freak out. Plus, she was curious. She wanted to find out what was going on on her own.

"One day," Momo mused, "my curiosity is gonna get me into trouble." _Er, more than it has already _she thought, thinking back to how she'd turned into a Mew.

It was exactly eight o'clock by the time Momo entered the park. Walking over to the tree from the previous night, Momo stood with her eyes closed and leaning against the tree, waiting. Momo didn't have to wait long: the boy who'd shown up after her first alien encounter suddenly stood before her when Momo opened her eyes, startling her.

Momo yelped in surprise. Her tiger ears and tail shot out.

"Gah! Not again!" she thought as she tried to cover them before the boy saw, but it was too late. The boy, _Kakei,_ she was forced to remember, gently pulled her hands down. It was getting on to dark, so anyone who saw from a distance would just think it was her hair.

"Cute," said Kakei, grinning. He seemed to be about sixteen. "So then Mew Star, your ears and tail pop out when you get startled or scared?" He was stroking her ears and Momo was having a hard time not purring. _This. Is really. Weird _thought Momo. Now that she was calmer, she was able to pull the extra appendages back in.

"Um, I guess," Momo said, not sure at all. She'd have to talk to Ryou about that. Eyes suddenly narrowing, she said," Okay. I'm here do to blackmail, so what do you want?" Momo was getting angry, but she was still curious as to what he wanted.

"Me?" he said smiling crookedly at her with a raised eyebrow. "What would you say if I said that I wanted to get to know you better? Not just Mew Star, but Momo Misagawa as well?" Momo wondered how he'd figured out who she was.

Momo blinked. "That...was actually an okay pick-up line," said Momo, feigning surprise. It startled a laugh out of Kakei.

"So you pegged me," he said smirking. "Did it work?" he asked.

"Nope. I don't want a boyfriend or any kind of relationship with a guy who randomly shows up and tries to blackmail me," Momo said, grinning. _So this wasn't anything serious. Good _she thought. _All he seems to be is a flirt/ joker._

"Aww, I'm crushed," he said, feigning dejection. "But, seriously. I don't give up easily," he said. "I always get what I want," he said full-out smirking. The smirk made him extremely attractive and the black bangs in his eyes gave him a mysterious appeal. He suddenly leaned forward and tilted Momo's face towards him and... kissed her. He jumped back just as Momo sent a kick that would have put him out of commission if it had hit. He smiled playfully.

"Y-you jerk!" yelled Momo, her face blushing in the extreme. "You stole my first kiss!"

"A fifteen year-old as cute as you has never been kissed? Yeah right!" he said, laughing at her indignant expression.

Leaving her standing under the blossoming cherry tree, Kakei walked off, disappearing into the twilight.

_Why does he remind me of a cat? A black cat, no less. One that's full of ill luck...which is directed at me...._

A/N: muahahahahahaaaaa! The first encounter of Kakei. i love his character if i do say so myself, lol. srry the chapter i so short, btw.


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